raw diet - newly killed chickens - no interest - Page 1

Question concerning raw diet?

Over the weekend we butchered home grown chickens which I have been excited about for my two gsd's to have some very wholesome meals instead of always grocery store purchased raw meat, etc. I started in the spring coddling those chicks for future meals for us and the dogs. I would tell my girl Edda, "let's go feed the little chickens" and she got so excited and knew exactly where to go.

 Saturday morning I did not feed them breakfast knowing that they would soon be having some very fresh/warm (can't believe I get excited about that, ugh!!!) chicken bits while cleaning. They both wanted nothing to do with it -- sniffed, lowered their heads, looked at the raw bits like they thought it was nasty and what sort of shenanigans we were trying to (literally) feed  them.  My male, Benny,  then did lie by the pen, with the soon-to-be gone chickens and just stared into the pen with his head on his paws. My girl, Edda made her escape and jumped inside the truck, not about to come out. I called them over now and then thinking there would be a change of taste and hunger, but not at all.

This morning for their morning meal I had some fresh/frozen from the weekend chicken, and some store bought chicken pieces. To my surprise they ate the store bought first and eagerly, then reluctantly ate some of the fresh, leaving a couple chicken necks that are still out in the yard that they are playing take-away from each other with, only to tire of that and just leave it.

Soooo......I'm left in a quandary as to why there was no interest in the fresh meat. Initially I wondered if they were put off by the chickens causing commotion, but they were actually calm and quiet never were they squawking or fighting.

Anyone had such an experience as this or idea what the problem might have been?

thank you.
pg

I have never offered fresh to my dogs. But I do have experience putting older dogs on raw and they initially refused the grocery store chilled food. I just waited them out. They eventually ate it the second or third time I offered it to them. And they had to actually learn to handle and chew the bones. Pretty funny to watch. Yes, but older dogs can get set in their ways as far as food.
 
Hang in there and don't give up. Maybe it's the temperature of the food. Try refrigerating or freezing your fresh chicken just to see it that's it. Good Luck. Poor babies don't know what they're missing!

I have seen my dogs do this many times as we run a ranch and I have tried the fresh chicken. I think what it is is that the chicken has not aged and they like it a little aged. It has a stronger smell. Of course this is just my guess. Now this is completly opposite when it comes to wild rabbit. They will instanly gobble this dish down!
I notice that my dogs will often have no more dinner left and I think that they have eaten everything only to see them munching on it a day later after they dug it up from their hiding spot.
It proably is all about the smell and what they have grown to like. Keep giving them the fresh. They will eat it later or learn to like it fresh.

They may have thought of the chickens as their friends......
maybe they think they are next.....

OR, have you ever told them to leave the chickens alone, sort of like my pet cat,
I need a sheep herding pole to keep the dogs away from the cat while he marches
out the front door.....

Just food for thought.......

That's what I was thinking... that chicken smelt too familiar! And it wasn't a smell they associated with hunger! The store bought chicken was impersonal in smell, and therefore, edible.
  

  dO NOT FEED THE PUPS FOR A DAY OR TWO...all OF OUR GSD , WE PUT  on a fast once or twice a month..does them good.

   Fast the dogs for two days and on second day in evening offer the fresh chicken....if you know ahead of time ....

  a hungry dog will eat raw.  Offer several times but make sure they are hungry...Freezing it some may help

  Whoever posted the   LEAVE IT ...idea  may be correct if they were off your land..


   DOGS use smell, among 5 other senses to think with...lol

   would be great if we did too........

   YR